Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka made sure he took Thomas Tuchel’s instructions on board when England beat Serbia 2–0 at Wembley Stadium on Thursday night.
The World Cup qualifier meant nothing for the Three Lions beyond the pride of winning, having already secured their place at the 2026 finals in North America next summer. But it was still an opportunity for Saka to act on what his manager asked after the previous international break.
With his goal against Wales in October, Saka became Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer for England, surpassing the record set by Cliff Bastin in 1938. That was Saka’s 13th at senior international level, which Tuchel suggested after the game was not enough for someone of his quality.
“How many goals did he score for England? 13?” Tuchel asked at the time. “This has to be more. It’s not enough. He needs to keep on going. I thought it’s 30 at least! And then I would have said, ‘It’s not enough’, because I’m never, never satisfied.”
Coming into Thursday’s Serbia game, Saka admitted he “100%” agreed with Tuchel’s assessment. “Yeah, let’s go for more [goals],” he said. “It’s up to me.”
Saka Rises to the Occasion Against Serbia
The measured left-footed volley Saka guided into the net to break the deadlock in the 28th minute would have delighted the manager, as much as it did the player, along with Arsenal and England fans. It was his 14th England goal in his 47th international appearance since debuting in 2020.
It should be noted that Saka’s rate of scoring for England isn’t much different than for Arsenal. His most prolific season for the Gunners was 20 goals in 47 appearances in 2023–24. He got 12 in 37 last season, 15 in 48 in 2022–23 and 12 in 43 during 2021–22. In the calendar year 2023, Saka scored four times in eight games for England, but then it was just 1 in 11 in 2024.
Where Tuchel is perhaps coming from is that England lack seasoned international scorers behind Harry Kane. The national team captain has netted 76 goals for his country, extending the all-time record every time he hits the back of the net—he’s already 23 ahead of the previous record (53) held by Wayne Rooney.
Yet no one else in the 25-player November squad has more than 20 international goals to their name. Just two—Marcus Rashford (18), and Saka (14)—are even into double figures.
Saka has done more in an England shirt so far, though, than Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden, who have a similar number of caps but have managed only 10 goals between them. Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon, neither included in this squad because of injury, have just two each.
The onus is very much on those players to contribute more goals as well, but Tuchel will be pleased that Saka has been able to instantly respond to the challenge.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bukayo Saka Instantly Rises to England Challenge Set by Thomas Tuchel.
